Time For Outdoor Team Building

If you want to refresh your teams, build on core strengths and remind them that they are all part of one large team, then it's often the case that people will react differently and actually absorb your message if you take your team out of their normal environment. Outdoor team building is an ideal way to blow away the cobwebs and ensure that your teams are well away from their computer screens.

There are many, many different types of outdoor team building events from shooting activities to school sports days, from treasure hunts to geese herding, with so much choice, how on earth will you know which events are right for your group?

The first thing to do is to consider your team, has anyone got any physical disabilities that may mean that they could not take part in an activity? If you do have someone fitting this bill, then consider a different form of outdoor team building or you will totally alienate them. It's quite normal for different people to have different fitness levels, you may have someone with a bad back or someone who is pregnant. It's crucial that you tell your team building organiser that these people will be on the event, normally an event is well organised and it will be only a small challenge that they will not be participating in but if abseiling is being considered then you may want to think again!

Think about how long you want the outdoor team building event to last. It's quite the norm for clients to say that they want a physically demanding event such as a school sports day to last three to four hours. The reality is that normally from eight to four, all of your team are sitting behind a desk, if you whisk them out and ask them to run around for four hours then someone is going to have a heart attack, it's not healthy and it will lead to resentment. If a team building company say that they advise two hours for an event it's for a tried and tested reason and my advice is to listen to them!

Think about your objectives, is it a healthy friendly competition that you want to encourage? Do you want to ensure people work with people they don't normally see or speak to? Is it communication or time management you want to highlight, whatever your objectives are, tell the team building company in your initial conversation and they will be able to guide you to the right types of outdoor team building for you and your group.

Budget is another very important factor for outdoor team building and it's best to give your team building company an idea of what you are working to, as the choices are many and the budgets vary enormously. If your budget is healthy, then you can look at hosting it at a great venue with grounds and having a whole array of different activities but if you are working towards a tighter budget you can consider an activity that would allow you to start and finish at your offices, cutting costs on the venue but allowing you maximise on the activity.

Outdoor team building can be extremely effective, if you consider your team and talk to a professional events company then you and your team will have a fantastic worthwhile team experience.

About the Author

Shaun Parker has arranged numerous team building events and shares his experiences to make life easier for you.